The Front Range has transformed in the past decade from a virtual desert of big-box recreation retailers to a blaze-orange mecca.

Cabela’s now joins its closest competitor, Bass Pro Shops, along with smaller-format Gander Mountain and Sportsman’s Warehouse in battling for their share of spending from hunters and anglers. Denver is the first metropolitan region in the nation to have stores from each of the big retailers that specialize in hunting, fishing and camping.

The two new Cabela’s soon will be joined by another two Bass Pro Shops, in Colorado Springs and Loveland.

Adding to the competitive mix are Walmart, sporting-goods generalists Dick’s and Sports Authority, and hundreds of small independents.

“As all retailers ramp up growth, the distance between stores is rapidly declining, which could pressure results across the industry,” said Piper Jaffray senior research analyst Sean Naughton.

Yet, at the same time that big chains are expanding at double-digit rates, the number of hunters and anglers is declining.

Since 1981, the number of hunting license holders has fallen by 12 percent, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fishing license holders are down by 4 percent in the same period.

“We’re a little bit concerned,” Naughton said. “Are there still people involved in these activities and passionate about them? Certainly. But we’re potentially setting the stage for overbuilding.”

Then again, Naughton won’t be around to witness the spectacle Thursday, when Cabela’s opens in Lone Tree and Thornton. Denver-area customers have been eagerly awaiting the arrivals, ever since the chain said in 2004 that it would open a store in Wheat Ridge.

Hordes are expected at the two openings. Anticipate traffic jams, beefed-up police presence and the obligatory overnight campers seeking to be first through the doors. Their zeal will be fueled by gift-card and product giveaways, and a shot at winning a Chevy pickup replete with Coleman utility vehicle and trailer.

“Nobody loves Denver and is as excited about our new stores as I am,” said Cabela’s CEO Tommy Millner, who started his career in Denver 37 years ago as a sales rep for Broyhill Furniture.

Cabela’s’ interest in a Wheat Ridge store began before Millner joined the company, but it was under his watch that the deal was abruptly terminated in 2011.

“Nothing against the folks in Wheat Ridge, but I just thought that was the wrong location,” Millner said of the proposed site, near Interstate 70 and Colorado 58. “I didn’t buy the argument that people would stop in Wheat Ridge on their way to the mountains.”

He said Cabela’s was deliberate in searching for what it believes are the perfect sites — each bordering Interstate 25 and located to capture broad swaths of the north- and south-metro markets.

Another key to what Millner maintains will be the stores’ success is their size. With the Lone Tree store at 110,000 square feet and Thornton at 90,000, both fit in the company’s relatively new “next generation” format.

Earlier “legacy” stores were up to two or three times larger, but Cabela’s found that in addition to lower development costs, the smaller stores are 63 percent more profitable per square foot.

“This format allows them to be more flexible in their product selection. They can change the product mix to be more regional and feature more Colorado outdoor products,” said retail analyst Jon Schallert of The Schallert Group in Longmont. “The new format, coupled with the work Cabela’s has done the last three years on increasing profit margins, means they can go into more markets than they could before, and expect a profit out of their stores.”

The smaller stores include scaled-down versions of the destination features that Cabela’s and Bass Pro are known for, including aquariums, waterfalls and interactive displays. Gander Mountain and Sportsman’s Warehouse traditionally have been less feature-oriented.

Schallert noted that compared with its three largest competitors, Cabela’s has significantly larger catalog and online sales. That gives the retailer a strategic advantage in knowing precisely where its customers are and what types of products they buy. Inventory at brick-and-mortar stores can be tailored based on buying online.

CEO Millner said he is well aware of the competitive challenge produced by opening two stores along the Front Range where Gander Mountain already has two, Sportsman’s Warehouse operates three, and Bass Pro Shops’ lone Denver store will soon by joined by new outlets in Colorado Springs and Loveland.

“I worry. It’s my job to worry,” Millner said. “But our store in Grand Junction has been a big success (since opening in 2010), and we are very eager to see how the metro Denver stores will do.”

Cabela’s is publicly traded and required to post financial information. Its competitors are privately owned. Representatives of those three companies all declined to comment on how the entry of Cabela’s to metro Denver could affect their own stores.

Retail analyst Jeffrey Cohen of IBISWorld said hunting-and-fishing retailers have reason to be concerned about rising store counts and declining numbers of license holders.

But those factors could be offset by an improving economy and a cultural quirk.

“The demographic that hunting and fishing appeals to typically is older Americans,” Cohen said. “They may not want to use online purchases as much — they prefer to go to stores.”

The big guns in hunting and fishing gear

Bass Pro Shops

Founded: 1972Headquarters: Springfield, Mo.Colorado locations: Denver, with new stores under development in Colorado Springs and Loveland.Total locations: 58 in 26 states, mostly east of the Rocky Mountains, and two Canadian provincesLocations under development: 22Estimated hunt/fish market share: 3.81 percent

Cabela’s

Founded: 1961Headquarters: Sidney, Neb.Colorado locations: Grand Junction, with new stores in Lone Tree and Thornton opening ThursdayTotal locations: 47 in 26 states across the U.S. and three Canadian provincesLocations under development: 19Estimated hunt/fish market share: 3.55 percent

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